You Gotta Wonder
by Katie Champagne
Summary: Mulder, Scully, and William (*their* baby!) share a cute moment.


Title: You Gotta Wonder  
Author: Pam  
Email: krepta21@hotmail.com  
Category: romance, fluff  
Pairings: M/S  
Rating: G  
Season: after Existence, but Mulder's back  
Spoilers: none  
Summary: Mulder, Scully, and William share a cute moment.  
Disclaimer: you know the drill -- characters belong to CC and co., I only own the plot, and yeah right I'm making money off this!  
  
~X~  
  
Scully sat on the roof, wrapped in a thick blanket to ward off the chill of the winter night. She held baby William in her arms, the latter swaddled in a wool blanket with only his little red nose peeking out.  
  
A noise from beside her caused Scully to turn, startled, before she glimpsed Mulder stumbling out the door, his warm breath puffing in small, white clouds. Mulder grinned sheepishly, a cute lopsided smile, and her heart melted as she was once again suddenly struck by the depth of her love for him.  
  
Scully relaxed and settled back into her previous position as Mulder approached and sat down next to her, offering her a cup of hot chocolate from the two that he held. She accepted the mug and gratefully sipped on the hot, sweet liquid, which warmed her body as it slid down her throat.   
  
Carefully placing the half empty cup to the side, Scully slid closer to Mulder, offering him the warmth of the blanket. Mulder wrapped the blanket around himself as he pulled her into his lap. His arms moved to encircle her waist, and she appreciatively leaned back to lay on his chest, relishing the feel and warmth of his strong arms around her.  
  
At last, Scully spoke. "What took you so long, Mulder?" she asked teasingly, shattering the silence of the night. "I thought for sure that you'd forgotten all about William and me. You didn't get distracted by some blonde 'Bambi', did you?" she continued with a smile.   
  
"Scully, you know I'd never leave you two...or, at least, not my *son*," Mulder replied impishly, earning himself a sharp elbow in the ribs. "Now that you mention it, though -- that college girl in the apartment next door might not be a blonde, but I'm sure that with my good looks and my winning charm, she could be persuaded to run away with me," he went on as Scully pulled out of his embrace to turn around and level him with a mock glare.  
  
"Mulder..!" she complained.  
  
Mulder assumed an angelic expression of perfect innocence and Scully flashed him a skeptical look before adding, "Sorry to disappoint you, Spooky, but you're *far* from innocent!"  
  
Mulder laughed good-naturedly, and as she turned back around, satisfied with herself, he enveloped her in his arms again, craning his head to look over her shoulder at their son. Aware of his intent, Scully carefully shifted William in her arms. The infant let out a soft sigh, his warm breath mingling with the chill of the night in a tiny puff of white. Mulder and Scully stayed still for a minute, enjoying the simple pleasure of the moment.   
  
Then, Scully turned her face toward the dark night sky above. Mulder followed her gaze, both gazing at the sparkling specks of light which dotted the night sky, and picking out the familiar constellations.  
  
"Scully...seriously," Mulder started. "Do you...ever wonder what's out there? And I'm not talking about the 'aliens' in this whole government conspiracy or whatever, I mean -- if we had never been assigned to the X-files, would you ever have...looked up at the skies and wondered about the potential alien life that could exist out there in outer space?"  
  
"Of course," Scully replied, smiling at his nervousness. She paused for a second. "When I was young, I used to stare up into the heavens and I'd just...wonder. It's a big universe, you know... No one can ever know for certain what or *who* could be out there, in the infinite reaches of space -- in a distant corner of our galaxy, even..." She stopped there, realizing how much like Mulder she sounded.   
  
Apparently, though she had been oblivious to it, he had been rubbing off on her for the entire time they had worked together. To think that she'd first been assigned to partner him because the FBI had hoped for her skepticism and scientific mind to influence the rogue Agent Mulder! Scully smirked inwardly at the irony but fervently hoped that he wouldn't tease her for it.  
  
He did not, of course, merely pausing for a second, as if collecting his thoughts. After a long moment, he spoke.  
  
"Yeah... You gotta wonder." They were silent, marveling at the awe of the cosmos. After a moment, Scully shifted William nearer to her body as she snuggled closer to Mulder. They sat there together, enjoying the pleasure of each other's company. As they gazed upon the bright stars, which twinkled in the dark sky like tiny chips of ice caught in velvet, they wondered.  
  
~Fin 


End file.
